Saturday, 30 November 2013

'The Book' Could Spell Renaissance For Italian Horror Cinema

Arcane and diabolical: promo still for The Book

The Masters of Italian horror, giallo and exploitation cinema are to return to our screens in what looks set to be a collaborative horror film of unprecedented scale. Taking its cue from the likes of V/H/S and The ABCs of Death, The Book will bring together a group of filmmakers renowned for their work in the horror genre, featuring 12 individual episodes, each helmed by a master of Italian genre cinema.

Rome, the Eternal City, as narrated by the Italian Masters of Horror.

Writers, directors, actors, composers and artists behind the finest Italian genre cinema of the past sixty years will be given the opportunity to showcase their own personal vision of Rome, spread across a dozen episodes. All will be delivered in the unique style and method of each respective director, providing them with a vivid platform to showcase the dexterity and innovation which brought them initial acclaim. Free from studio constraints, The Book promises to recapture the magic of bygone Italian genre cinema which still resonates with so many fans today.

And just take a look at who has been confirmed...

Lamberto Bava (Macabre, Demons, A Blade in the Dark)

Hailing from true horror lineage, Bava is the son of legendary filmmaker Mario Bava; the man behind some of the most innovative and transgressive European genre features of the twentieth century. Learning the trade from his father, Bava Jr. also served as an assistant director on a number of classic titles such as Danger: Diabolik (1968), Cannibal Holocaust (1980), and Tenebrae (1982). His own movies have become cult favourites, particularly Demons (1985) and Demons 2 (1986). Throughout the last two decades, Bava has been working extensively in television (as have a great deal of his Italian horror peers), however, The Book marks a return to his cinematic roots. Taking a classicist approach to contemporary horror, Bava is set to become a name which is uttered once more as one of the true stalwarts of genre pictures.

Still from Bava's Demons

Antonio Bido (The Bloodstained Shadow, The Cat with the Jade Eyes)

Bido grew up in the 1950s with an insatiable love of film and as a child he was allowed access to a local projection booth; an event which changed his life forever. His first experimental 8mm film, Dimensioni (1969), won the prize for best debut at Motecatini; the premiere Italian short film festival in the 1970s. This success led to a professional relationship with Giuseppe Ferrara, who mentored the young Bido, giving him a position as first assistant director on Faccia Di Spia (1975), a wartime exploitation film. Bido’s 1977 movie, The Cat with the Jade Eyes (Watch Me When I Kill), solidified his abilities as a gifted filmmaker, with its mature and artistic approach to the giallo. This was followed by the sublime The Bloodstained Shadow in 1978.

The mastermind behind a plethora of genre classics, including the dystopian masterpiece 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982), Castellari is also responsible for creating Franco Nero’s best western role outside of Django (1966) in his 1976 film, Keoma. As well as spanning western and action features, Castellari is also one of the pioneers of the Eurocrime genre. It was his 1973 feature High Crime which spawned a new wave of Italian crime films, very separate from their giallo counterparts. Castellari’s legacy resonated with many young filmmakers, but none as influential as Quentin Tarantino who even titled his 2009 blockbuster Inglourious Basterds as a tribute.

Cozzi makes a welcome return behind the camera after several years of working as an Italian genre film historian and curator of Dario Argento’s Profondo Rosso museum in Rome. It was Cozzi’s low budget debut, Tunnel Under the World (1969), which brought him to the attention of Dario Argento, who hired him as assistant director on Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971), and created a bond which has lasted to this day. Regularly delving into the world of science fiction and fantasy, Cozzi has directed his own versions of Godzilla (1977) and Hercules (1983). In 1980 his film Contagion became embroiled in the 'video nasties' furore in the UK, and was one of a number of films targeted and banned by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Alberto De Martino (The Antichrist, Scenes from a Murder, Holocaust 2000)

An Italian cinematic veteran, De Martino has been actively involved in the film industry since his early days as a child actor. His directorial debut, The Invincible Gladiator (1962) launched a career which spanned several decades, and a variety of genres. The ‘60s saw a range of thrilling war and action movies, but it was when he directed The Man With The Icy Eyes (1971) that his reputation as a master of the macabre was solidified. He made another giallo (Scenes From A Murder, 1972) before jumping into supernatural horror with 1974’s The Antichrist and 1977’s Holocaust 2000.

Still from De Martino's The Antichrist

Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust, House on the Edge of the Park, Last Cannibal World)

From action to exploitation, Ruggero Deodato has become one of the most infamous Italian filmmakers to attain international recognition for his genre work. A sublime storyteller and craftsman, his early thrillers, such as Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man (1976) led to a foray into the jungle for Last Cannibal World in 1977. He would return to South America in 1980 to create one of the most infamous movies of all time; Cannibal Holocaust. The film which pioneered the found footage genre, and almost landed Deodato in prison, Cannibal Holocaust remains not only one of the most shocking movies ever made, but one of the most acerbic socio-political commentaries on globalism and the destructive nature of contemporary society.

One of the most interesting giallo directors in early 1970s Italy, Lado’s Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971) is regarded amongst aficionados as a prime example of an original and classic giallo, featuring a heady mixture of creative direction and sensual violence. His 1975 feature Night Train Murders (a loose reworking of Wes Craven's Last House on the Left) caused massive censorship problems throughout Europe, with the Italian board of Censorship rejecting it completely. The political and social analysis contained in his films being as much a cause for controversy as his violent and sexual content, Aldo Lado remains an important and highly influential member of the Italian genre elite.

Lenzi began his long and illustrious career as a writer and journalist before directing swashbucklers and adventure films in the 1960s. It was in 1969 that he made the crossover to more adult adventures, when he wrote and directed Orgasmo. This X-rated thriller was praised as an early template of the giallo, and Lenzi spent the next few years contributing to the genre with films such as So Sweet, So Perverse (1969) and Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972). When he made The Man from Deep River/Deep River Savages in 1972, he became partially responsible for instigating a plethora of cannibal features that would change the face of Italian cinema forever. Eaten Alive (1981) and Cannibal Ferox (1981) became his two most notorious entries in the anthropophagic sub-genre.

Edoardo Margheriti (In The Eyes Of A Killer, Six Steps Into Giallo, Black Cobra)

Margheriti is the son of infamous Cannibal Apocalypse (1980) director, Antonio Margheriti. He learned the trade from his father, as well as creating special effects for Sergio Martino’s 2019 – After The Fall Of New York (1983). Like his father, Edoardo has worked in many cinematic roles; assistant director, screenwriter, producer, director and as an FX artist. His craftsman-like approach is evident throughout his movies and he has had a successful and varied career as a filmmaker for both cinema and TV.

Still from Martino's The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh

Sergio Martino (Torso, All the Colours of the Dark, The Strange Vice Of Mrs. Wardh)

Sergio Martino has been an active contributor to every imaginable Italian sub-genre since his beginnings as a writer in the mid-sixties. His gialli are amongst the finest that the genre has to offer, including All the Colours of the Dark (1972) and The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail (1971). He worked extensively with Edwige Fenech, who features in several of his best gialli, such as Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) and The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971). With an eye for 'beauty in the wreckage', it was Martino who gave Suzy Kendall her ultimate genre role, in 1973’s Torso, and brought Ursula Andress into the jungle for Mountain Of The Cannibal God in 1978.

Sergio Stivaletti (The Three Faces Of Terror, The Profane Exhibit, The Wax Mask)

Stivaletti began his career as a special effects and makeup artist, working on over 40 major genre pictures throughout the 1980s, 90s and 00s. His distinctive and creative style helped enhance the visions of directors like Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava and Michele Soavi. 1985 was the year that Stivaletti would get his big break, working on both Argento’s Phenomena (as a special makeup effects artist) and Bava’s Demons (creating the distinctive makeup and prosthetics). Stivaletti’s directorial debut was The Wax Mask, a film originally intended for Lucio Fulci, but handed over to Stivaletti after Fulci’s death in 1996.

Still from Stivaletti's The Wax Mask

Tonino Valerii (My Name Is Nobody, My Dear Killer)

Famed spaghetti western director Valerii entered the Experimental Centre of Cinematography in 1955, but it was almost a decade later when he released his first full movie. He served as an assistant director on Sergio Leone’s A Fist Full Of Dollars. For The Sake Of Killing (1966), took the experimentation of his early training and combined it with what he learned from Leone. The following year he made Day Of Anger/Gunlaw. His inevitable ventures into the world of the giallo resulted in My Dear Killer in 1972.

Dardano Sacchetti (The Beyond, Bay of Blood, The New York Ripper)

Sacchetti is responsible for writing some of the most acclaimed – and notorious – titles in Italian horror cinema. His work includes Cat O' Nine Tails (1971), Bay of Blood (1971), Shock (1977) Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) City of the Living Dead (1980) The Beyond (1981), The House by the Cemetery (1981), The New York Ripper (1982), A Blade in the Dark (1983), Demons (1985), Demons 2 (1986), and The Church (1989), among many others. Quite a list, isn’t it?

Still from Dario Argento's Suspiria

Goblin (Suspiria, Deep Red, Sleepless)

For over forty years, Goblin have been stunning film fans and live audiences alike with otherworldly, synth led progressive rock. Their collaborative work with Dario Argento remains, for many, the pinnacle of horror soundtracks. Their scores for Deep Red (1975), Suspiria (1977) and Dawn Of The Dead (1978) are still critically acclaimed and highly sought after to this day, with special editions being released and in constant demand.

More participants are to be announced soon.

Check out the film’s fundraising campaign page on IndieGoGo to find out more about this very rare opportunity to become part of Italian film history. Follow the project on Facebook and Twitter to get exclusive updates and special offers.

Behind the Couch is a term used as a humorous metaphor to describe the actions that a state of fear may drive someone to: for example, a young child hiding 'behind the couch' when watching a scary film or TV show. Its use generally evokes a feeling of nostalgia: safe fear in a domestic setting.

In the case of this blog, it also denotes the reviewer hiding behind the couch in shame, due to the huge amount of trashy horror films he watches...

"Gracey approaches the material with energy and intelligence... You'll be dusting off your Dario Argento DVDs to reevaluate even the titles you didn't think you liked before." - Cinema Somnambulist

"A study that is commendably even-handed in its approach... An excellent introduction to Argento - Gracey clearly knows his stuff, and a love of all things Argento shines through on each page." - Land of Whimsy

"It’s incredible. The amount of detail, information and analysis is astounding. Beyond that the book is a treasure trove of info. 8/10." - The Toxic Graveyard

"Sure to contain something new for even the most dedicated Argento fan." - Eye for Film"Highly recommended for fans, and for those seeking to learn a little more about his movies... Make sure to check it out." - Benevolent Street

'The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.'

H.P. Lovecraft

'Like one, that on a lonesome roadDoth walk in fear and dread,And having once turned round, walks on, And turns no more his head; Because he knows a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread.'

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

'A shudder through the silence creptAnd death athwart the noonlight swept…Graves closed round my path of life,The beautiful had fled;Pale shadows wandered by my side,And whispered of the dead.'

Sarah Helen Whitman

'We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.'

Stephen King

'Human beings are the only living creatures endowed with a full awareness of their own mortality.'

Alex Lickerman, Buddhist Physician

'A house is never still in darkness to those who listen intently; there is a whispering in distant chambers, an unearthly hand presses the snib of the window, the latch rises. Ghosts were created when the first man awoke in the night.'